Gillian Foster's Tattoo
by Beloved-the-Fool
Summary: Gillian Foster...a tattoo? That's not something you'd expect from her.


_**A/N: So, my Muse seems to be a little bit skin-art obsessed of late. I blame Tim Roth. Most of the bad influences on my Muse are his fault. He's a very naughty boy. And who is my Muse to argue?**_

* * *

Gillian Foster has a tattoo.

Everyone thinks she's the "good girl" and that she would never have anything as dangerous and daring as a tattoo.

Even her business partner and best friend thinks this about her, though he once told her he didn't think she was the good girl at all. Sometimes, she almost believes him. Most of the time, though, his actions speak louder than those words. His actions tell her that - yes, indeed - he does believe her to be the good girl.

If only he knew. If only they all knew.  
Okay, yes, maybe she _is_ mostly vanilla. Maybe she _is_ mostly the good girl.  
_Mostly_.  
But she does have one. A tattoo.

Gillian Foster has a tattoo.  
How uncharacteristic of her! It just...well, it goes against the grain. It flies right in the face of what is deemed prim and proper, professional. It doesn't _go_ with the smart pant suits or the tailored skirts with their matching designer heels and tasteful jewelry accents. It doesn't quite _fit_ with the look she has crafted for herself.

Gillian Foster. A tattoo? Who would have thought?  
That's more up her partner's alley, isn't it? To be sure, he has them. He has quite a few. But then, it's in character for him. He's the dangerous and daring one. He's the shady one of the two of them. He's got the dodgy past and the questionable methods. He's got the devil-may-care attitude and the couldn't-care-less fashion sense. Aren't tattoos just part of the uniform for him? They're part of the look he has crafted for himself, if _crafted_ is even the right word for it.

Gillian Foster has a tattoo.  
She wonders what they'd all think of her if they knew she had it.  
Some of them, she suspects, would think she had gone off the deep end. Very likely, they would blame her partner for having too much influence on her. He's a bad influence, they'd probably say. And maybe they're right or maybe they're wrong. Maybe they're neither right nor wrong; maybe he's just _an_ influence but not a bad one.  
Others would possibly snicker behind their hand at her. Laugh in derision and roll their eyes. Who does she think she is, they'd ask. Who is she trying to fool? Or is _she_ the fool? Silly Gillian. So sad to see someone trying so desperately to prove themselves, to be something they aren't and can never be. And they'd shake their heads in condescension at poor, pitiful Gillian. In over her head and indelibly marked for life.  
Still others might be baffled by it, wonder how she had come to have it and why and what it truly meant to her.  
She can't help but wonder what _he_ would think of it. What would he think if he knew about her tattoo? Would he think less of her? More? Would he be intrigued? Repulsed? Would the thought of it make her seem like a kindred spirit, or would she seem suddenly and completely foreign to him?

Gillian Foster has a tattoo.  
Occasionally, she thinks a few of the people closest to her might have begun to suspect. They don't _know_, of course. Not for sure. And she's not about to confirm it, not even if they ask her outright. She would deny it if they asked. It's not that she's ashamed of it; she isn't. It's just that...some things are private. This is one of those things.  
She has never told a soul. Not a single, living soul.  
Under the right circumstances, though, Gillian knows she could be persuaded to tell just one person about it. Just one. But it would have to be the right person, and there is only one of those in existence.

Gillian Foster has a tattoo.  
No one can see it, though.  
That's a real shame, too, because it is absolutely beautiful. Exquisite. Breathtaking, really. The workmanship is unparalleled. The lettering, the scrollwork is intricate. The interlocking patterns, colours both delicate and bold, they are like nothing anyone has ever seen before. Stunning.

Gillian Foster has a tattoo.  
No one has ever seen it, though. No one will ever see it.  
No one can. Gillian herself can't even see it.  
Not even the man who put it there can see it.  
Hell, he doesn't even know he put it there. Probably not.

Gillian Foster has a tattoo. Yes, she does.  
It's a tattoo that no one will ever see.

It is the name of her very best friend, the man she loves.  
It is tattooed on her heart; it is written with invisible ink that can never fade.


End file.
